An external defibrillator delivers a defibrillation pulse to a patient through a pair of chest electrodes (FIGS. 1 and 2). The electrodes are connected to the defibrillator by a cable, which is typically divided into two parts, a patient cable, with a wire extending from each electrode to a patient connector, and a defibrillator cable extending from the defibrillator to a defibrillator connector that mates with the patient connector. Typically, each defibrillator manufacturer uses electrical connectors with configurations unique to that manufacturer, with the result that one manufacturer's electrodes cannot typically be connected to another manufacturer's defibrillator.